Tag: planning for 2021

The Best Planner

It made be cliché to chat about planners in January, but I have found my planner incredibly useful during these unprecedented times. I didn’t throw this planner away in 2020, and it actually helped me stay organized in 2020.

I use to spend hours each December looking for the perfect planner. I remember December 2019 spending way too long in the planner aisle in Target. I finally picked the Create & Cultivate planner. This planner felt like it was built for me. I like to think it incorporates what every 20 something-year-old is looking for in a planner. It helps you be organized without being too much.

The planner’s beginning pages have a money goal section, important events for the upcoming year, and life and work goal section. There also is a place for a vision board. I have used this to set up goal lists and an actual photo vision board.

The rest of the planner is broken up by tabs of each month. There is a monthly calendar at the beginning of each month section. Then the planner is broken into weeks within the month. Each week has a section for mantras, primary goals, secondary goals, self-care, inspo, and more. It also has a section for each day of the week with the freedom to design each day the way you’d like. I typically write down events of the day, if I am working in the office, and some goals I want to focus on. You could add trackers, checklists, etc. At the end of each month section, there is a monthly reflection area. You can take notes a reflect on your goals, activities, events, money, your wins, side hustle planning, and follow-ups for the next month. This section really grounds me each month and makes sure I am intentional with my goals, times, and money. Additionally, it encourages you to recognize your wins, even if you feel like you might not have any.

Being intentional with your days is crucial in times like these. When most things in the world may feel out of control, a planner can help you feel more in control. This planner helps to ground me and set intentional and realistic goals.

If you are looking for a planner and jive with the Create & Cultivate one I am talking about, you can find it at Target!

Happy Planning!

Stepping Into 2021

I think I am among the majority who think it’s not a good idea to create resolutions or extensive goals for 2021.
2020 has been very difficult in many ways. I have accomplished almost none of my goals I planned this time last year. In 2020 I focused on surviving and taking care of myself. And that is enough.
I am a planner, though, and see the mark of a new year as an opportunity to evaluate where I am in life and where I would like to be in the future.

I am proud that I survived in 2020 and that I have the chance to create a better 2021. 2020 put much into perspective for me and made me question everything. My new perspective gave me a new way of approaching setting goals for 2021 and the future. It’s hard for anyone to set goals and reach them in uncertain times.
One of my favorite podcasts, “Happier,” talks about their lists of goals “20 for 20” and “21 for 21”. They also always talk about a word of the year. The podcast has inspired my goals in the past and has inspired me this year as well.

I decided to choose a word for 2021. This word is something I will use as an intention. Something that will help me through whatever 2021 brings. It will help guide my actions, goals, and the way I carry myself. I found picking a word to focus on gives me a sense of being intentional with my actions without setting structured goals.
The word I chose for myself is Balance. I wish to create balance in my life during 2021. I want to apply my word to my personal life, work-life, health, etc. I want to find balance in every corner of my life, whatever that means. I want to make decisions each day that create balance. 2020 provides a lot of imbalance, and choosing this word makes me feel like I will actively choose balance in each step I take in 2021.

I have chosen to create a few things to help inspire my desire for balance and help me use my word daily. I have created a vision board to help inspire me daily to strive for balance in my life. I also got myself a Lokai bracelet in the Pantone colors of the year. Lokai bracelets have water from Mt Everest, the highest point on earth, and mud from the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. They are created to help one find the balance of highs and lows in life. Pantone’s colors this year are PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating. These colors, yellow and gray, are to show how elements come together to support each other. These colors represent warmth, optimism, strength, and positivity.
I hope that wearing the Lokai bracelet and seeing my vision board daily inspire me to create balance in my life.

I am striving to be optimistic about 2021 while still understanding that there are hardships ahead of us. I am eager to use my word to create more happiness and wholeness in my life during these strange times. I hope this encourages you to use something, whether it’s a word or a song or a book, to guide you through this upcoming year. We should be intentional with our actions and strive to be kind and caring towards others in the new year.

Cheers to a new year!